"I'm surprise you're not dancing with anyone," says the guy in a flirty tone. "I'm Li Qiang."
"I don't feel like dancing," Mingyu answers.
"Interesting. Then would you like to try dancing with me?" Liqiang ask as he touch her shoulder, instantly making her shiver in fear.
Meanwhile, Xiaoliang had been staring at Liqiang from a distance as he continues to try to flirt Mingyu. He didn't like the way he is trying to approach her. Knowing that the girl gets anxious too easily, his aggressive way seems to scare her.
"Excuse me," Mingyu suddenly says as she walks away from the aggressive guy.
Xiaoliang sees Mingyu suddenly entering the toilet which is located inside the KTV room. As the other teenagers continue to get crazy through the night, Xiaoliang sees Liqiang pulling out a small plastic bag from his pocket. The plastic bag looks suspicious to him, since it contains some weird looking white powder. Liqiang suddenly opens the small plastic bag and pours into a glass of white wine on the table, which is Mingyu's glass.
What did he just poured into her drink? Xiaoliang thought. He suddenly feels worried that something will happen to the girl.
Meanwhile, Junhao and Meiling are having their quality time dancing together in front of the flat screen TV.
"So I heard from Yifei that you were gonna give me a surprise?" Junhao ask the girl as he holds her close to him.
"Yeah, but I think Mingyu already gave you a surprise," Meiling says with an irritated tone.
Junhao takes a deep breath. He really didn't expect Meiling to behave like this, when he had made it clear to her that he and Mingyu are just friends, and that he's only helping her out because of her condition.
"Oh come on, she's just a friend," Junhao explains.
Hearing this, Meiling is still not satisfy with his answer. Yet, she didn't want to ruin the mood by starting a drama when all she wants to do right now is spend time with the boy she is madly crushing on. Realizing this, she decides to forget about her negative thoughts.
"Ok, I trust you," Meiling says. She puts her arms around Junhao's neck. "Now, how about if I give you that little surprise I've been preparing?"
Junhao slowly forms a shy smile upon hearing her temptating words. He feels surprised that Meiling could behave so playful, that he finds it attractive.
"What is it?" Junhao ask in a shy tone.
Without anymore words, Meiling suddenly pulls Junhao closer and give him a passionate kiss. The kiss soon heats up as Junhao feels firework inside his heart, bursting out when their lips touch. Though he had been with a few women since high school, he never felt this way before for a woman, like the way he feels for Meiling.
Meanwhile, Xiaoliang had been stealing glances at Liqiang a few times, when he hears a familiar female voice, coming from beside him.
"Looks like Meiling surprised Junhao," Yifei says as she sits peacefully next to Xiaoliang.
Xiaoliang turns his head to see the two teenagers now making out with each other, just when Mingyu happens to walk out of the toilet and heads back to her seat.
"They look cute together, don't you think?" Yifei asks Xiaoliang, yet he didn't answer since he has his vision to Mingyu who is sitting next to Liqiang. He starts to fear that she'll drink whatever Liqiang had just poured to her glass. Without any words, Xiaoliang suddenly gets up and heads over to Mingyu, leaving Yifei sitting with confusion.
"Cheers to a great night," Liqiang as he raise his glass at Mingyu, signaling her to raise hers.
Mingyu didn't want to bother, but didn't want to behave too rude at the guy. She raise her glass and is about to take a sip, when she suddenly hears a familiar soft male voice.
"Mingyu!" Xiaoliang says, as he almost slightly shouts with a bit of a panic tone.
Mingyu almost takes a sip of the glass of white wine, when Xiaoliang approaches her and grabs her glass from her hand, making Mingyu surprised and Liqiang staring at him with a furious look.
"Any problem that you interrupted us, Cheng Xiao Liang?" Liqiang ask with a snobbish tone.
"I believe you should stop messing with people's drink without their concern," Xiaoliang says. "Women are not to be fooled by your sneaky tactics."
Liqiang chuckles. "Then what are all these women doing? They're just fools waiting to be fooled by a men's touch and money."
Upon hearing this, Mingyu turns her head to face Liqiang with an irritated look. As much as anxiety gets her crazy, Mingyu is a feminist. She believes men and women are equal, and will discard any men that looks down at women. Upon hearing Liqiang's statement,
Mingyu feels furious and gets up from her seat.
"Nobody deserves to be fooled or treated badly in any kind of form. Get a life and maybe you can fix that mindset of yours," Mingyu says as she stares at Liqiang in the eyes, before walking away.
Mingyu's POV...
Liqiang's statement made me feel sick knowing that I'm in the same room with a jerk. I can't take this anymore. As much as I hate communicating with my mom, it kills me more to see him around after hearing his stupid statement. Furious, I decided to walk up to Junhao and Meiling who are now busy kissing at the corner of the couch. Well, they've surely been getting closer
"Junhao," I say in a low tone, yet he didn't reply since the loud music is blasting out of the speakers, making it impossible to be heard if we don't raise our voice.
"Junhao!" I slightly shout.
Both Junhao and Meiling turns their heads to see me. Meiling gives me an irritated look. I guess I just made her mad by ruining their little moment together.
"Yes, what is it?" Junhao ask with a confused look.
"I'll be going home. It's getting late, and I don't want to worry my mom. You don't have to drive me though, I can get home by myself," I say. "Thanks for tonight."
"Are you sure you don't need me to drive you back?" Junhao ask with a worried tone, which makes Meiling to glance at him with an annoyed look, making me feel uncomfortable.
"Yeah, I'm good," I say casually, trying to not worry him. "Take care! Bye guys!"
With that final word, I walk away from the couple and exit the KTV room. I walk through the golden theme hallway as I am heading to the elevator, when I suddenly hear foot-steps following me from behind. I didn't bother to look back since I wanted to wait until I reach the elevator.
I finally reach the elevator. I press on the button and wait for it to stops. I turn around to see who had been following me all this time. To my surprise, looking at this person now doesn't make me feel too anxious like before. Though the anxiety is still running inside my vein, somehow it's not as worse as before when I first saw him.
"You're going home?" I ask the guy, who is none other than Xiaoliang.
"Yeah," he replies casually.
The moment became silent for a while, before the elevator finally stops at our floor. As the elevator door opens, I walk inside with Xiaoliang following me from behind. I press the button which will take us to the ground floor.
"Let me drive you home," he says suddenly, making my heart almost jump upon hearing his words.
"What? No, it's fine. I'm gonna take the bus," I say casually. I don't get it why would he want to drive a random person he's not close with home in the middle of the night.
"It's alright. I'll also be heading home, might as well I drop you home," Xiaoliang says.
The elevator finally stops at the ground floor. As the two of us walks out of the elevator, my mind begin to consider taking his offer. There's a chance I could reduce my problem with my mom by letting this guy drive me home, by that she wouldn't have any excuse to get furious at me for going home alone.
"So?" Xiaoliang ask as we finally exit the KTV.
"Fine, you can drive me home," I say.
Surprisingly, Xiaoliang forms a small smile on his lips. It's not everyday that I get a chance to see his smile. This guy rarely smiles even when everyone else in the room is smiling, so getting a chance to see him smile is rare enough that it feels special. Not to mention, his smile actually looks sweet.
"Ok. Let's go," Xiaoliang says, in which I give him a nod.
The two of us walks over to his car. We enter the car and put on our seatbelts. He sets up his GPS from his phone, in which he had asked for my address. After that, he starts the engene and drives off.
Silence fills the air as the tension between us became awkward. I glance at Xiaoliang for a second to see his vision having full focus on the road.
"So....thanks for confronting Liqiang," I say all of a sudden, trying to light up the mood.
"No problem," he answers in soft and gentle tone. "I just didn't like the way he stares at women."
I stay silent upon hearing his words. I didn't expect to hear this coming from the quiet boy at college. Other than his smile, his voice is also something rare to be heard.
"Me neither. I don't like guys who talks badly about women," I say, as I feel a vision of my childhood suddenly surfacing in my head. Growing up and after visiting the psychiatrist, I've learned to be more concern of my mental health condition, and also be more aware of the effects towards my mind and character. In this case, one of the reasons why I hate men who look down on women, was because my dad used to look down on my mom, before he left and never to be seen again.
"I agree. A man has never been a true man until he learns to respect women," he says.
I turn my face to see Xiaoliang, looking all peaceful in driving yet having full concentrations on the road. From the side, the quiet guy seems to look mysteriously alluring. Maybe there's more to this guy than just his quiet personality.
"You're right," I say.
During the ride, we eventually took turns in asking questions. We eventually got to know each other more. I learned that he has a part-time job at a restaurant, and he also learns that I help my mom sell noodles in my free time. After minutes of driving, we finally arrive at my place. Hopefully my mom is asleep at this time, so I wouldn't have to face her dozens of questions.
"We're here," Xiaoliang says.
"Thanks for the ride, Xiaoliang," I say as I take off my seatbelt. "Stay safe, and goodnight."
Xiaoliang smiles. "Goodnight."
With that final word, I walk out of his car and grab the keys from my pocket to open the front door of my house.
3 days later...
At Huang University...
At the cafeteria...
Xiaoliang's POV...
I continue to eat my red bean steamed buns I brought from home. I haven't been in the mood to eat much during lunch, literally because I want to go to the library after to study.
"Hello, is anyone sitting here?"
I turn my head to see Mingyu looking a bit nervous standing still with a tray.
"No, just take a seat," I say in a casual tone.
"Thanks," Mingyu says as she takes a seat a cross me.
Mingyu's POV...
I put my tray down on the table and is about to start lunch, when I see Xiaoliang almost done with his steamed buns. After about 3 minutes, he puts his lunch box back in his bag before he getting up from his seat. That's fast.
"I'll be going now," Xiaoliang says before walking away to exit the cafeteria.
Geez, I haven't even ask him where he'll be going.
Meanwhile...
Junhao is having lunch along with Meiling, Yifei, and Liqiang, when Xiaoliang happens to walk pass their table, making the four teenagers to turn their head to see him.
"Xiaoliang looks like he's in a rush," Yifei says as she sees Xiaoliang exiting the cafeteria.
"Yeah," Liqiang says.
"You still haven't finish him for taking away your girl," Meiling says in a sarcastic tone.
"What? Liqiang here has found his soulmate?" Junhao teases the boy sitting a cross him.
"Duh! In fact, she's your best friend, Wang Ming Yu," Yifei states.
"Mingyu? When did you guys started dating?" Junhao ask in a curious tone, making Meiling to glance at him with an irritated look.
"I was about to get a taste of her at your party, but damn Xiaoliang had to interrupt," Liqiang states with an annoyed tone.
Hearing this, Junhao glares at Liqiang with a disbelief look as he almost choke on his water.
"Man! If you're gonna go out with my friend, at least don't treat her as one of your toys to joke around. She doesn't deserve it," Junhao says to Liqiang with a serious tone.
"Oohh, and Zhao Junhao actually cares about the weird girl's feelings? Bro, I thought you stated that you were the bad boy back in your high school days," Liqiang says in an insulting tone.
Junhao could feel his annoyance towards the boy sitting a cross him already building up, yet he tries to stay calm since he didn't want to start an unnecassary fight. Besides, Junhao actually believes that some things can be solved with a good talk, unless there is no way to communicate.
"A real player knows how to treat women, cause they know without them, he wouldn't even be a player in the first place," Junhao states. "I hope you understand."
Junhao's words seems to leave Liqiang and Yifei speechless, while Meiling starts to glance at him with a different look. Somehow, she starts to feel worry after hearing his words.
A few minutes later...
At the library...
Xiaoliang is reading his Business Management book, when he suddenly hears footsteps approaching him. The sound finally stops and is replaced with a sound of a book being placed on the table, and a chair being pulled out, signaling that someone is taking a seat. Xiaoliang turns his head to see who is taking a seat near him. It's Mingyu.
Mingyu turns her head to see Xiaoliang who is staring. She forms a small smile at him before turning her head back to start reading her book. Xiaoliang sees the girl reading her book, her eyes filled with anxious yet the way she smiles at him somehow shows that there is something hidden about her, yet he couldn't figure out what it is. Though it feels weird for him, he tries to shrug all these thoughts away.
A few hours later...
After college...
Meiling and Yifei are walking through hallway to exit college. As they walk, they could see some of the guys trying to flirt with them, yet they didn't bother to give them any responce, since the both of them are too busy talking to each other.
"So it seems like you and Junhao are official," Yifei says.
Meiling smiles shyly. "I suppose you got that correct."
"Ah, but do you think there might be something going on between him and Mingyu?" Yifei ask, making Meiling to stare at the girl as she starts to feel irritate at the thought of the anxious girl.
"What made you thought of it like that?" Meiling ask, trying to sound as calm as possible since she didn't want anyone to find out she is already boiling inside with jealousy.
"He always ask her to join us during lunch, though she declined. To add more, I saw them a few times together. He seems to really care for her," Yifei says, which made Meiling feel more furious.
"Well, she can't steal my man cause she's no more than a friend to him," Meiling says. "Besides, don't you think she might have feelings for Xiaoliang?"
"Really?" Yifei ask with a surprised yet curious tone.
"Gosh, Sister! Can't you see that she's been literally trying to get near that quiet nerd in every chance?" Meiling ask Yifei, in which she sees her friend's facial expression slowly changing to look more worry upon trying to recall the time she saw Mingyu and Xiaoliang together.
Meiling knew that Yifei had been crushing on Xiaoliang for a while, since the cheerful girl had told her before that she's planning to approach Xiaoliang. Yet till now, seems like Yifei still hasn't got any further results with Xiaoliang. Knowing that her friend is probably feeling insecure at the moment, she thought that this is the perfect time to turn up the dramas and give Mingyu something she didn't quite expect.
"Oh my goodness," Yifei says. "Didn't she know that I liked him first?"
Meiling sweetly puts one of her arm around Yifei's shoulder, trying to comfort her who is on the edge of deep insecurity.
"Don't worry, Yifei! Mingyu won't be able to steal any guys from anyone. As much as she wish to get a taste of them," Meiling says, already feeling more furious at the thought of Mingyu.
"I'm still worried, Meiling," Yifei says in a low tone.
Meiling forms a small yet slightly secretive smile. "Don't worry, I have a plan."
"What plan?" Yifei ask.
"Let's talk about it later at home. This place is too crowded," Meiling says.
8:20 PM...
At Xiaoliang's house...
Xiaoliang enters his house after another exhausted day. Out of surprise, he sees a middle-age woman with short curly hair and a girl with shoulder lenght straight hair who looks the same age as his brother. The girl is the woman's daughter. All of them are sitting in the living room with his grandma. The middle-age woman turns her head to see Xiaoliang with a cocky look, before turning her head back to see his grandma.
To be continue...